Last season, after just five games with the Rays, Manny Ramirez chose to retire rather than serve a 100-game suspension for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Now comes word from Ken Rosenthal that Manny may have only been required to serve 50 games.

…the players’ union, for reasons that are unclear, maintained that Ramirez’s suspension should have been 50 games, according to major league sources…Both sides agreed Ramirez warranted his two suspensions, sources said. The difference of opinion might have been over whether Ramirez violated the same portion of the drug agreement twice…the disagreement between the sides was so pronounced, the matter likely would have gone to arbitration if Ramirez had pressed the issue, according to one source…Ramirez retired instead.

Long before Manny came out of retirement, we wondered aloud why he didn’t just serve his suspension and then decide to retire. If he sat the 100 games, he would have been eligible to return to the Rays in August. And while things obviously worked out well for the Rays, his bat would have been a welcome addition in October.